Fall, Falling, Fallen
by SkyGem
Summary: Human!AU.When Jack Frost was 12, his parents divorced, and he and his brother Jamie were separated. Four years later, Jack loses his mother in a car crash and is sent to live with his father. In his new home, Jack feels out of place – the only person he feels comfortable with is Jamie, and his new stepbrother Aster seems to hate him for some reason. Full summary inside. JackRabbit.
1. Prologue

Summary: When Jack Frost was just twelve years old, his parents divorced each other, and he and his four-year-old brother, Jamie, were separated. Now, four years later, Jack loses his mother in a car crash and is sent to live with his estranged father and the family he has built with his new wife. In his new home, Jack feels out of place – the only person he feels comfortable with is little Jamie, and his new step-brother Aster seems to really dislike him. Human!AU. JackRabbit pairing.

* * *

When E. Aster Bunnymund came home one day to find his little brother curled into the fetal position in his father's lap, the teenager nearly had a heart attack.

"Jamie?" he asked, dropping his bag and going up to the eight-year-old crying into their father's chest. "What happened, kid?"

Looking at Aster through red-rimmed eyes, he whispered, "My mom was in a car crash."

Aster blinked when he heard this, and it took him a moment to process what Jamie had said but when he did, he felt absolutely devastated.

"That's terrible," he whispered, unable to bring himself to talk at a regular volume as he gathered his younger stepbrother into a hug. "When did it happen?"

"T-this morning," replied Jamie in the same volume, wrapping his arms tightly around Aster's neck. "Dad picked me up at lunch and told me what had happened when we got home."

"Oh God, mate, I don't know what to say," he told the child, hugging him tightly and rocking him back and forth. He loved all his parents dearly, and the thought of _any_ of them dying just broke his heart.

"Jamie and I are leaving soon for New York," his stepfather suddenly spoke up, breaking the near-silence. "You, your mother, and Sophie will come down the day after tomorrow for the funeral."

"Wouldn't her husband be organising the funeral?" asked Aster, confused. "Why do you need to go now?"

"Her family is, actually. She never re-married," replied his stepfather with a headshake, "But that's not why we're going."

"We're going to be with Jack," Jamie whispered in his ear, his voice sounding shaky, and suddenly, it all made sense to Aster.

Jack Frost. The stepbrother he'd never met before. He'd completely forgotten about him.

The guy was about Aster's age, and though he and Jamie often spoke on the phone and through email, Aster had never felt comfortable joining in on their conversations, no matter how many times Jamie had invited him.

Of course, Aster knew that he would eventually have to meet the guy, they were related after all, even if it was just through marriage.

But never in his wildest dreams had Aster imagined that their first meeting would be at Jack's mother's funeral. It was a terrible first impression, and Aster hoped that it wouldn't put a damper on their relationship.

As he was thinking about this, though, another thought occurred to Aster.

Looking up at his stepfather, he asked, "Will Jack be coming to live with us now?" he asked.

"That will be up to Jack," replied the man, shaking his head. "I, for one, would feel better if he did come to live with us, so we could all help him through this, but he might feel more comfortable staying with his mother's family. I know his grandmother, for one, would be more than happy to take him in."

Aster nodded at this, pensive, and wondering if perhaps a big change was coming his way.

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SkyGem: Hey y'all! So yeah, super short prologue, I know, and I'm sorry, but I promise the next one will be longer! Most of my chapters are at least 2000 words, but for now, this is all you get. Please do leave a review though and let me know what you thought, ne?


	2. Sorrow

Jack Frost was lying in bed, curled into a tight little ball of despair, when his little brother walked quietly into the room and wordlessly got under the covers with him.

They lay there wordlessly for what seemed the longest time, curled into each other.

Finally, after more than ten minutes if silence, Jack looked up and, upon seeing his little brother for the first time in four years, all he could think to say was, "Hey, Jamie."

It came out in a hushed voice, and the eight-year-old looked back at him through red-rimmed eyes and mustered up a watery smile.

"Hey Jack."

"You've grown a lot, kid," he said, and the normalcy of the conversation felt strange, after the mutual tragedy that had befallen the two of them.

Jamie's smile grew a bit stronger at that, and he replied, "Not as much as you have."

The two were quiet after that, the stilted conversation falling away.

The silence lasted for all of two seconds before Jamie's breathing hitched, and a small whimper escaped him.

"I miss her, Jack," he whispered quietly, and Jack scooted closer to the eight-year-old, pulling him close.

"I know," he whispered into thick, soft brown hair. He pitied his little brother because he hadn't seen their mother in four years. In some ways, that was both a blessing and a curse. It was a curse in that he'd only known his mother for four years, and would now would never get to know her. But it was a blessing in that, because he had never really known her, it would be easier to get over the loss.

Jack, on the other hand, had lived with her for sixteen years. Sixteen years to learn all her little quirks, sixteen years in which she had become his best friend, sixteen long, long years which were now beginning to seem so cruelly short.

Thoughts of all the little things he'd never get to do with her again flashed through Jack's mind, and he gripped Jamie tighter to him, squeezing his eyes shut, and finally letting loose the sobs that had been stuck at the back of his throat since he'd learned of what had happened that morning.

They lay there for longer than either of them bothered to keep track of, taking solace in each other's presence, trying to dull the pain of their loss.

Neither was really sure when they began to drift into the beautiful numbness of sleep, but when their father came into the room to check on them at nine that evening, they were still curled into each other, their breathing even, dark brown and pure white hair mingling together where their foreheads rested against each other.

Letting out a small huff of relief as he saw that both his sons were doing alright for the time being, he walked quietly over to the bed.

Tucking the blankets in around his sons, Michael Bennett stooped to give each of them a kiss on the forehead, lingering on the elder for just a moment longer, taking in the face of this young man he hadn't seen in far too long.

When he could finally bring himself to stop ruminating on such depressing thoughts, he exited the room quietly, turning off the lights as he went.

"They're asleep?" asked the boys' grandmother as he joined her in the kitchen, and he nodded.

"I still can't believe it," he whispered quietly to her, rubbing a hand over his face, trying to keep his tears at bay. "It just seems so unreal."

"I know," was the quiet reply as a weathered hand came to rest on his.

As the two sat there in an almost comfortable silence, Michael couldn't help but feel extremely grateful to his former mother-in-law. They had always gotten on great, and even after he and her daughter had parted ways (on friendly terms), she had continued treating him like a son.

When he'd arrived on her doorstep a few hours ago, she had first greeted Jamie with a strong hug, and after he had left in search of his brother, she had done the same for Michael, holding him for a longer time than either of them would have allowed in any other situation.

She was a good woman, and Michael knew that even if Jack decided to stay with his grandmother after this, he would be able to rest easy, knowing that his son was in good hands.

* * *

The next day, as the Frost family and Michael Bennett received well-wishers and continued preparing for the funeral, over in Pennsylvania, Aster's friends were beginning to get extremely worried for the teen.

Aster had spent the entire day staring into space and fiddling absently with a pencil, but not really drawing anything.

Finally with only ten minutes left of the lunch break, the others decided to confront the Australian about his strange behaviour.

"Is something wrong, Aster?" asked Tiana, the only female in their group.

Aster, who hadn't even noticed that his friends' conversation had stopped, blinked back to attention, and was slightly startled to find everyone's gazes on him.

Blinking a few times to try and get his thoughts in order, the teen finally registered his friend's concerned question, and shook his head.

"It's...ah..." he floundered for a second, trying to decide how to word the situation in a way that wouldn't make his friends worry too much before finally saying, "Jamie's mother passed away yesterday."

And suddenly, mildly concerned expressions shifted to outright worry as the other three reflexively leaned closer to their friend.

"What happened?" asked Nick, who was sitting in front of Aster.

"Car crash, I think," replied Aster with a shrug.

"Is Jamie okay?" asked Tiana immediately after. Having been friends with Aster since they were children, she and the others knew how much he'd always wanted a younger sibling, and how strong a relationship he had built with his step-brother since their parents had gotten married.

"About as okay as you could expect him to be after his mother just died," replied Aster in a deadpan, "Which is to say, not at all. He and Mike left yesterday to go see Jack. Mum and Sophie and I are going up for the funeral tomorrow."

"Jack?" Sandy asked in sign language, seeming confused. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite remember why.

"Jamie's older brother," replied Aster, and the others could see that his stranger of a step-brother was one thought that had been bothering their friend all day.

They waited, and sure enough, the Australian continued, voicing his concerns.

"Mike said he might be coming to live with us and I just...how am I supposed to act around the guy?" he asked. "I mean, I know next to nothing about him except that Jamie _really_ looks up to him and that he's just lost his mother. And now I might end up living with the him?"

The others winced slightly in sympathy, and Sandy signed, "Just be nice to him."

"Sandy's right!" agreed Tiana, "And make sure to give him room. He did just lose his mother after all. Don't pressure him to talk about his feelings, and don't expect him to be all touchy-feely right away. It'll take him time to open up to you and to really start feeling like part of the family."

"Yes," added on Nick. "And be nice. Ask Jack if he wants to hang out with us. Make friends."

Aster nodded, trying to take all of this in, and before anyone could say anything else, the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch.

As they all got up to head back into the school, Tiana piped up, saying, "Anyways, I think we may all be jumping the gun a bit here. Aster did say he _might_ be coming to live with them. He could always decide he wants to live with his grandparents or something."

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SkyGem: So, that's the end of this chapter! This chapter would have been out a while ago, but it was kinda triggering for me, so I ended up putting it off. Also, it's still a bit short, sorry, but it's kind of like a transition chapter. Y'all will get to see some Aster and Jack interaction next chapter, and let's just say things don't go very well. Leave a review and let me know what you all though, eh?


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